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_____________________________ _____________________________ 1
Chairman Phil Mendelson Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie 2
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A BILL 7
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 12
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To amend, on an emergency basis, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment 17
Initiative of 1999 to allow the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board (“ABC Board”) 18
to issue temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid for periods 19
between 3 days and no longer than one year in length, allow licensed testing laboratories 20
to receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from qualifying patients, allow 21
licensed testing laboratories to conduct quality assurance or research and development 22
testing for cultivation centers and manufacturers, amend the definition of a social equity 23
applicant to include arrests and convictions of qualifying family members for a cannabis 24
or drug offense, expand the list of eligible family members under the social equity 25
applicant definition to include siblings and grandparents, clarify that existing licensed 26
cultivation centers and retailers and applicants that scored 150 points or more during the 27
open application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 28, 2022, 28
that are authorized by statute to receive a cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer 29
license apart from a designated open application period are not counted in calculating the 30
50% set aside requirement, clarify that the 5 cultivation center registration applicants that 31
scored 150 points or more during the same open application period shall automatically 32
receive a manufacturer license provided that they pay the annual fee and register with the 33
ABC Board, allow the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board to issue conditional 34
licenses to testing laboratory applicants, and to waive the application fee for testing 35
laboratory licenses. 36
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 38
act may be cited as the “Medical Cannabis Clarification and Non-Resident Patient Access 39
Emergency Amendment Act of 2023”. 40 2
Sec. 2. The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1999, effective 41
February 25, 2010 (D.C. Law 13-315; D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01 et seq.), is amended as 42
follows: 43
(a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.01) is amended as follows: 44
(1) Paragraph (13B)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “30-day registration 45
identification card” and inserting the phrase "registration identification card valid for periods 46
established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 days and no longer than one 47
year in length” in its place. 48
(2) Paragraph (20C)(B) is amended by striking the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 49
guardian who is or has been incarcerated” and inserting the phrase “or has a non-parent legal 50
guardian, or a grandparent or a sibling who is or has been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated”. 51
(b) Section 6(b) (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.05(b)) is amended as follows: 52
(1) Paragraph (4) is amended as follows: 53
(A) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase “30 days” and 54
inserting the phrase "periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which are between 3 55
days and no longer than one year in length”. 56
(B) Subparagraph (B) is amended by striking the phrase "30-day”. 57
(2) Paragraph (5)(C) is amended by striking the phrase "3 years.” and inserting the 58
phrase “3 years, except for temporary non-resident registration identification cards that are valid 59
for periods established by the ABC Board by rulemaking, which shall be between 3 days and no 60
longer than one year in length.” in its place. 61
(3) A new paragraph (11A) is added to read as follows: 62
“(11A) Allow testing laboratories to: 63 3
“(A) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from 64
qualifying patients; provided, that the qualifying patient must present proof that he or she is 65
currently registered, and that the medical cannabis product was purchased from a retailer or 66
internet retailer licensed with ABCA. 67
“(B) Receive and test samples of medical cannabis products from licensed 68
cultivation centers or manufacturers for purposes of quality assurance or research and 69
development. Samples collected for quality assurance or research and development testing may 70
be selected by the cultivation center or manufacturer non-randomly. Any tests conducted for 71
purposes of quality assurance or research and development shall not satisfy the requirements of 72
paragraphs (8) through (11) of this subsection.”. 73
(c) Section 7 (D.C. Official Code § 7-1671.06) is amended as follows: 74
(1) Subsection (h) is amended by striking the phrase "cultivation centers who 75
receive a manufacturer’s license pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.” and inserting the 76
phrase "cultivation centers and retailers, and applicants who scored 150 points or more during 77
the ABC Board open application period that occurred between November 29, 2021 and March 78
28, 2022, who receive a cultivation center, manufacturer, or retailer’s license pursuant to 79
subsections (d), (w), (x) and (y) of this section.”. 80
(2) Subsection (k)(1) is amended to read as follows: 81
“(k)(1) The ABC Board shall be authorized to issue a one-year conditional license for a 82
cultivation center, retailer, internet retailer, manufacturer, courier, or testing laboratory that does 83
not currently have a proposed location.”. 84
(3) Subsection (n)(2) is amended to read as follows: 85 4
“(2)(A) The ABC Board shall, by rules issued pursuant to section 14, establish the 86
initial application and renewal fees for cultivation center, manufacturer, retailer, internet retailer, 87
and courier licenses. The ABC Board may revise these fees as considered necessary. 88
“(B) There shall be no initial application fee for a testing laboratory 89
license. Renewal fees for a testing laboratory license shall be established by rules issued pursuant 90
to sub-paragraph (A) of this paragraph.”. 91
(3) A new subsection (y) is added to read as follows: 92
“(y) The 5 cultivation center registration applicants that submitted medical 93
cannabis facility registration applications to the ABC Board between November 29, 2021 and 94
March 28, 2022, that scored 150 points or more shall automatically receive a manufacturer 95
license provided that the annual fee is paid after the effective date of the Medical Cannabis 96
Manufacturer Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2023, effective June 29, 2023 (D.C. 97
Act 25-152; 70 DCR ___); provided, that the applicant registers on a form provided by ABCA 98
with the ABC Board by May 1, 2024.”. 99
Sec. 3. Repealer. 100
The Medical Cannabis Manufacturer Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, 101
passed on 2nd reading on June 20, 2023 (Enrolled version of Bill 25-304), is repealed. 102
Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement. 103
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 104
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 105
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 106
Sec. 5. Effective date. 107 5
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 108
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than 109
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 110
412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; 111
D.C. Official Code § 1-204.12(a)). 112